Are You Ready For Some Sun Bowl?

Getting ready here! Sadly, I won't be attending (thanks to a failure of friends who can afford to go), but I will be off to Chicago to watch the game with friends. Should be fun!

Motivation

The last time I posted was on July 27, 2010 (which is obvious if you just look at the next post down, but I am a captain of stating the obvious, so I'm doing it).

It's not like I have some great excuse for not posting. While I did change jobs in that time period, I have had the time to post. I've had the good fortune to attend several games this season. I might have even had some stellar insight (though that's probably unlikely). What I haven't had is the motivation to post. Really, it has been like this for a couple years. I was just tired of losing, of not having hope that things were going to get any better. And the beginning of the season didn't help matters. It was easy for me to just ignore my blog, to find an excuse not to post. I couldn't build up the enthusiasm to even post links, as easy as that is.

But, after last night's win over USC (exactly four months after the day I last posted), that motivation is back. Thank you, Irish. See you in Orlando (or wherever) - and I can't wait to be there with you!

39 Days...And the Grotto Goes Up in Flames

Well, maybe not so dramatic as that. But evidently the grotto caught on fire Monday night, 40 days before the first game. That has to be a sign of something...

43 Days And Counting...

Where will you be in 43 days? I'll be somewhere on the Notre Dame campus, having a beer (take that, Excise Police!) and a brat.

So close...

Edit: If you're looking for something to enjoy today, check out this video of Michael Floyd playing some softball against the ND Ladies - suffice to say, I'm pretty sure Golden Tate would have done better.

Look Who Is At The Ballgame

Turned on the television to watch the White Sox game, and look who's sitting behind the batter:


Coach Weis! It's quite distracting.

Welcome to Blue Gold Week!

Headed to ND at the end of the week for the festivities, but, barring work intruding (a real possibility), I will have multiple posts over the course of the week - all involving tailgating and tailgating recipes, as I attempt to come up with some new tastes for parking lot cuisine.

Is It Friday Yet? - And Getting Amped Up for Utah

I woke up this morning super excited about it being Friday and the start of spring football...yeah, needless to say (but I will anyway), when I realized it was Thursday, I was quite disappointed. On the plus side, less than a month until Blue Gold!

A quick link this morning, via The Wiz of Odds - it appears that people in Utah find northern Indiana to be an enticing November vacation destination, as Utah has way more requests for tickets to the ND-Utah game than they have actual tickets. But my fave part is when the school hits up their donors for more money:

"This is turning into the biggest road game in the history of the program," Knuth said. "There are a lot of good things going on with the program and people are excited."
Fans who are worried about getting tickets to the game can still better their chances by donating more money before the May 15 deadline, Knuth said.

Always nice to see fans of other teams being the ones hit up for the bigger donation.

Swarbrick's Conference Comments Posted Without Comment

Swarbrick's comments on ND joining a conference for football, as reported by ESPN.

Soldier Field, Here Come the Irish!

It appears that the Irish will be playing at Soldier Field in a couple of seasons.

Why is my first thought upon hearing this to wonder whether they will be serving beer at the concessions?

Twittering

So, I am on Twitter (@bluegoldheels), but I rarely use it. I live in the cell phone dark ages, with a phone that barely text messages, let alone allows me to update Twitter, so I can only update when I am online. I may, however, start paying more attention to Twitter.

You see, to go along with my last post, Ozzie Guillen is now on Twitter. You just know that there will be tweets from Ozzie that would get any other manager fired as the season progresses. Plus, it is easier to understand him when he is writing, not speaking.

Already, Ozzie is saying things that are not exactly what one would like to hear from a manager. For example, yesterday he tweeted: "3 day of Spring Training and im already boreddddddd."

Nice attitude there, Skip. And yet, this just makes me all the more happy to be a White Sox fan.

Things to Do in the Long Off Season - Even More Things

Now, I love my Irish, but there are other teams in my life. Most notably, I love my White Sox. Now, even if you don't like baseball, if you have ever heard Ozzie Guillen's wonderful insanity, you know that the idea of a reality show in which he stars is either the most brilliant or most horrifying idea ever. Either way, it's a train wreck waiting to happen, and Major League Baseball seems to have realized this, and on July 4, the MLB Network is going to premiere a show called The Club that will follow Ozzie, among others.

My off season just got a lot more amusing.

Another Way to Get Through The Long Off Season

Watch any and all video of the new coach you can find. Over at Irish Sports Daily, a video of Coach Kelly at the Baseball Dinner.

I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, so I have no insight for you (like I would have insight even after watching it). Still, it is one more thing to get me through the off season.

The Long Off Season

If you have ventured to this website, I am sure you are one of those individuals who marks the overly long college football off-season in smaller, more palatable increments. There's Signing Day (oh, glorious day when my obsession with boys in high school could probably border on the arrestable), Start of Spring Practice Day (when I start obsessively watching 15 minute videos of men stretching and doing other assorted exercises that teach me nothing, though it would be helpful if they would teach me that I need a better, more productive hobby), Blue Gold Game (or, as some have come to mark it, "Sit in the parking lot, drink, and accidentally miss the game. Again." Day), etc.

Next weekend marks an event that, thanks to a new subscription to DirecTV and the presence of the NFL Network on said dish, I can now add to my off-season list of events: The Combine. Yes, I will be spending significant portions of next weekend watching fat men do things like take their shirts off and get weighed. And I will enjoy it far more than anyone should enjoy something like that.

Alumni Sports Weekend Sights

I headed off to Notre Dame for the weekend. Guess who was there?


That's right - the Amazing Christopher!

Oh yeah, I was on a Stadium tour and saw this other guy:


He offered no insight into next season. Must have known I would post it on the internet...

The Things Women Go Through...

Sad news for those of you not of the female persuasion.

Don't Ever Leave Us, Coach Pearl

If you did, we wouldn't have gems like this one.

Why Didn't I Know About These at Christmas?

Link.

Just Made Someone's College Career Relevant.

Link. And yes, I corrected the tweet's grammar.

Bring me some salsa, please

You WILL bow to your tasty new Tostito overlords.

Next Up, USC Football

A gal can hope, right?